HARDWARE: Trial Run
by hthrun
Summary: A new super hero, Hardware, goes to college and fights his first super villain opponent, Animax, with the assistance of SpiderMan.


**HARDWARE: Trial Run**  
by Henry Thrun

HARDWARE 0: Intro

Note: This story was originally told in a series of blogs at know how they could download knowledge into people in the "Matrix" movies? Neo learned all those martial arts and Trinity learned how to fly a helicopter. The basic form of my mutant powers is very similar. As cartoonish as it sounds, I can absorb items with information (such as books, CDs, jump drives, etc.) into my head and download it all. Just like Neo, I can then put these techniques into practice. I can also record any other information I attain through my basic senses, in essence giving me a perfect photographic memory. This ability enabled me to breeze through school and attain PhDs in engineering and computer science in four years. I also wrote and downloaded software to give myself most of the functionality of a computer. For example, I can calculate equations as fast as any computer. I can also keep myself entertained by playing movies, games, or songs in my head.

So far it doesn't sound like I have much to offer the fight against crime, right? Sure, I know many fighting styles and keep my body in top physical form in case I need to use them, but I probably couldn't even beat the Punisher much less a super powered villain. However, I also have the ability to load weapon designs and morph into them. For example, I used a program to design an energy cannon. I can absorb and download this design and transform my hand into this cannon. I have been able to create many weapons this way. I have actually created entire robotic bodies that I can download and morph into. With each I keep varying degrees of my original organic material. Some I am completely robotic but my mind stays intact. I don't know exactly how these powers work, but I believe when I transform my body is stored in the drive. Some robots are larger and require multiple drives to hold all the information. Others are smaller and I can use the extra space to store and regenerate parts. With all of the designs I leave enough memory so I can continue uploading any resources I need, such as fuel and ammunition.

HARDWARE 1: Trial Run

It took a little convincing, but my parents finally let me go to Empire State University. They wanted me to stay closer to home, but I really felt it was time to take the next step with my abilities. I was able to fly up to Minneapolis (once I finally got the bugs out of the jetpacks and stopped melting the robotic legs with them) and help the law enforcement some there, but New York should offer more opportunities for "fun."

I guess I should just be glad my parents are as supportive as they are. Most mutants would have been shipped off to the Xavier Institute by their worrisome or prejudiced folks. I have to admit it was enticing when Professor X visited, but I really feel called to stay in the mainstream. I'm so thankful that he has aided me so much in my development despite not attending his school. But even he was hesitant when I told him I was going to start the superhero bit and hit the streets alone at night. It's not like I was going out there and just street fighting with my normal body. I had developed bulletproof robot modes. As far as the thugs I was after were concerned, I was invincible!

But that probably won't be the case now. The Midwest doesn't see quite as much super villain activity as New York. That's the main reason my parents were worried about me coming out here. They know I'm looking to get into "trouble." But even Spider-Man started somewhere, right?

Classes start tomorrow. I've already downloaded all the material and classroom locations, but I still feel nervous. I completed pretty much my entire freshman year through post-secondary, so I'm likely to be the only wide-eyed student in most of my classes. Maybe I'll go for a "stroll" tonight to get my mind off things...

Well, so far I've been able to fly around pretty unnoticed. I've been able to tune into police radio transmissions, but nothing much so far... Maybe I'll just hit the streets for a little while. I like to walk around in a trench coat and hat hiding my metal exterior underneath. I'll put on the "disguise" before inserting a drive. Then with my powers I can either just absorb my body into the drive and keep the coat on the outside, or absorb the coat as well, which is much better for flying. When walking the streets I'll use a more heavy duty body. It's a bit heavier so I don't have a jetpack on it, but I can still move pretty fast with it.

Still nothing, I guess my first night will be a quiet one. Wait, there's a car on the side of the road. It looks like they could use some help. Oh well, it may not be as fun but at least I can do some good...  
"Hi there, what seems to be the problem?"  
"I don't know, man, it just died all of a sudden. You know anything about cars?"  
"A little." I'm being modest here, heh heh. "Let me take a look... Everything seems to be..." click A gun!  
"How about you empty your pockets for me?" Oh good and I thought this was going to be boring  
"Sorry, dude, but I actually think I may have found something here..."  
"QUIT PLAYING AND GIVE ME YOUR WALLET!"  
"Nope."  
"I'M GOING TO SHOOT YOU, I SWEAR!"  
"No you're not, stop being silly!"  
"THAT'S IT!" BANG!  
"I stand corrected..."  
"What the..."  
"Great, now I'm going to need a new coat." He's already running away. Must be scared. I should catch him soon... God bless super robotic speed. WHAM That probably hurt, but he'll be fine. If he had been much faster, I would have had to shoot. Of course I would have used a rubber bullet or bean bag and would have just tripped him up...

I just dropped him off at the police station. Handcuffed to a poll outside with a recording of what happened. (I have digital recording built into most of my robots for such an occasion.) I wonder if it'll make the news. Nahhh, I'm sure that's small potatoes around here.

HARDWARE 2: First Week

So far so good! Classes are going fine and I've been making some friends. One guy I met on the floor, Aaron, invited me to go to church with him and to some Christian group meetings. I figured it'd be pretty cheesy, but I went along just to be polite. They actually weren't too bad. Most of the people there seem a little too dramatic, but they seem nice enough. I've already got the Bible downloaded, but some of what I've heard at these meetings has me looking at it in different ways. I guess there's more to "knowing" something than just having it memorized. I'm going to try downloading some more religious material...

I've also been playing quite a bit of sports to help keep myself in shape. It's a good thing I can get all my studying done in 5 minutes; I don't see how all those other students could do anything else. There's so much material to cover! You really have to admire all the hard work they put into it. I'm trying to help some of them out with their studying as well.

I also met a lot of guys in the science club. One of them seemed really bright, Peter Parker. I got to talk to him some and the stuff he's done is pretty impressive. The only thing is he's skipped out on a lot of meetings. It's kind of disrespectful to the rest of us

As far as my escapades, I've a few lower class criminals. I expected a bit more action; maybe it will turn up some more. Or maybe I just have to be more proactive and get out there more. I've just been pretty busy designing new weapons and Hardware. The resources on campus have been very helpful!

I think I'll go try out some Hardware now. Hopefully I'll have something interesting to report when I return...

HARDWARE 3: Animax Part 1

WOW! Finally some real action! I was flying around as normal the other night and picked up a police alert about a store robbery. I got there about the same time the cops did. It looked like a pretty bold crime. It was in a good neighborhood at a really expensive store. I quietly parked myself atop a building across the street and watched as the cops started investigating. I was able to zoom in with my "eyes" and pick up all the sounds with my "bionic" hearing.  
The police were sure the perp was still there since they arrived so soon. Sure enough, there some rustling started coming from inside. I zoomed in as far as I could and had my "night vision" turned on, but I couldn't see anything. The burglar was further in; I would have needed to get on ground level to see in. Hopefully I'll be able to develop some super-power x-ray vision sometime...  
So the cops pulled their guns and ordered the robber to come out. Just some more rustling, so the cops started to go in. All of a sudden, the burglar just BURST out through the broken window, so quick the cops couldn't react. The "guy" was off and running, FAST, on all fours.  
I didn't get a good look because it was so quick, but as I started off after the perp I quickly replayed the earlier footage frame by frame so I could see just what I was chasing. It wasn't human! Pretty exciting, huh? Its movement was like an ape, but it looked reptilian instead of mammal. It was green with big ears and a wide mouth full of teeth, a lot like the Gremlins from the movie, except this one was much bigger. I've never seen anything like it, and I have downloaded images of practically every known animal in the world. I also noticed he was carrying a bunch of jewelry...

I tried following it on foot as long as I could, but I made up little ground on it. It knew I was following. (That's the bad thing about my Hardware, it makes so much noise.) Police cars also joined the pursuit and I figured it was time to go airborne. Just then, though, it ducked into an alley and I had to go back on foot. Now I was the only one chasing it as the cops tried but couldn't keep up on foot.  
After a bit more running, the creature jumped onto a busy highway and started running through traffic, dodging cars! At least now I had room to fly again. I made a tight squeeze through a tunnel and was barely able to keep up with it. I could tell the creature was getting frustrated and finally starting to tire.  
It finally got off the road, ran into another dark alley, and stopped. I landed and started slowly approaching it. The creature was just staring at me and breathing hard. I had some guns loaded with non-lethal ammunition ready, but I didn't want to use it. It didn't appear to be very highly developed. I wasn't sure what to do; I guess I was going to try wrestling the jewelry away from it. I had another drive handy that included Hardware with sleeping gas, among others, but I was afraid to turn back to normal right in front of this thing.  
As I got to within about ten yards, the creature screamed at me. A loud, piercing, ferocious scream. I stopped and waited to see what it would do next. I didn't have to wait long...

To be continued...

HARDWARE 4: Animax Part 2

The creature lunged at me, just as fast as it exploded through the window back at the store. It got a good hold of me and kept scratching and clawing. It had amazingly strong teeth and was able to cause significant damage. I was finally able to shake it free, but it took half of my left arm with it! (When my Hardware gets injured, I don't feel pain. I do, however, have the status reported to me continuously, so I am well aware of what kind of condition it's in. If I were to receive VAST damage, I could shut down and perhaps be killed. I haven't experimented to be sure, though.)

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Once the creature was distanced from me, I opened fire with my remaining arm. I got a few hits before it leaped away and behind a dumpster. I had a lot of systems in bad shape, including my flight system. I ran around the corner and switched back to human form. (When I switch back and forth, my Hardware and my human body switch places, or at least that's the best way I understand it. So now the drive I just used has the destroyed Hardware on it. When I get back home, I'll download a new version over it from my computer.) I quickly put loaded an Adamantium body, but as soon as I finished changing to Hardware, the dumpster the creature was hiding behind flew at me!

It was direct hit, argh! I was really getting ticked off now. I cleared it off as quickly as I could just to have the creature grab me right away again. Before I could do anything, he threw me about thirty yards onto nearby road... in the path of a semi! I tried getting up right away but it nailed me, my head right in the grille. As it went by I got ran over by a few wheels as well. It was a good thing I switched Hardware, but a lot of my internal robotics was in pretty bad shape.

I stood and looked at the creature as it was slowly coming towards me. I should have switched to Hardware with tear gas, stupid! Suddenly a man in a ski mask came from out of the shadows, atop another strange looking creature. This one was walking on all fours, shaped kind of like a giant lizard with no tail... and covered in fur, of course. The man was sitting atop him with a saddle. "Slash, come here!" he called to the creature I had fought with. "Ah, excellent work. You had quite a haul tonight! We will have extra treats for you back home."  
"Wait!" I cried as Slash got aboard the other creature with the man.  
"Sorry, Slash has already had his play time with you."  
I started running after them, but my legs gave out from the damage the joints took in the collision. "Piece of junk!" laughed the man in a raspy voice as his "steed" began to trot off. "Tell your creator to give up on robotics. My genetically engineered friends here are the wave of the future. No toy like you can stop ANIMAX."  
"TOY?" If I wasn't lying nearly helpless on the road, I would have made a witty remark about his lame super villain line. I raised my arms to fire at him, but the animal they were riding leaped up the fire escape quickly and retreated via the rooftops.

I changed back to human form and loaded up my "gas" Hardware, with flying capability. Just as I was about to take off after them, I heard a faint cry. I turned and saw the semi crashed up against the curb. The driver! I was so concerned with stopping those creatures and my own bad shape, I forgot all about him. I ran over to see him stuck between the steering wheel and the seat. He was breathing faintly and bleeding. I figured he didn't have much time, so I changed back to human quick, grabbed him, and morphed back into Hardware. (When I morph, I can also absorb other things into my drive, such as my clothing something I'm holding, even a whole other person, as long as I have enough memory in the drive available. I still can't figure out how the absorbed mass transfers to memory...)

I flew to the nearest hospital and ran up to the receptionist. I morphed to human form, holding the semi driver. (When I absorb something, including myself, and change back, the thing(s) I absorbed are in the exact same state as when I absorbed it/them. The driver didn't lose any more blood as I flew over. This can be annoying, though, because it screws up my whole sleep pattern. Also, as time passes I won't grow old at the same rate as everyone else. That might be weird...)  
"He needs medical attention immediately!" The receptionist just sat in shock. I ran him back to a room and started treating him.  
"Hey! You can't do that!" shouted a security guard. Some doctors finally came up and started helping him. I could tell everyone was still in shock by my morphing. "Y-You have to come with me," he stammered. I quickly morphed back into Hardware, ran out of there, and flew home.

Animax is still out there. I'm going to have to come up with a plan of attack for next time. Why do these guys give themselves such silly names? It must be a pride thing. I have to admit this one is kind of catchy, though...

I hope not too many people got a good look at me at the hospital. I need to keep my identity a secret so I can keep working on upgrading my Hardware without intrusion. And to protect my family, of course. I'll have to start wearing a ski mask when I go out to fight crime. But crooks wear those, so I might need to come up with something cooler...

HARDWARE 5: Bad Night

I don't remember ever being so mad. I over slept and missed my first two classes today, and we were taking a test in one of them. I'm going to have to coordinate my sleep schedule better, but it's tough when I'm transforming into Hardware. If only my body could sleep while it's in the drive...  
Oh well, I should still be able to make-up for that test. But then some dorks were screwing around at lunch today and spilled crud all over my notes (I went to lunch straight from class). I know that I have them all downloaded and wouldn't need them, but it still ticked me off! I totally blew up at them! I feel bad about it now; I need to learn to control my anger. Maybe I just need more sleep...  
Then to top it all off, that Peter Parker blew off our science club meeting AGAIN! I can't believe I respected that guy before. He's just a lazy oaf who takes his gifts for granted!

I think the real reason I was in such a bad mood was Animax. Hardware had never been defeated before, especially that easily. I couldn't wait to get my hands on him! I had put together new Hardware especially for our next confrontation. Unfortunately, he seems to be lying low.

I still saw some action that night while patrolling a bad part of the neighborhood. I overheard a mugging taking place. It was just a few blocks away but I got there in no time. Some thug was beating the snot out of another guy.  
"Back off!" I ordered. The thug stopped and turned around.  
"Mind you own... What the heck are you?" The victim took off while the thug was distracted. "Hey! I'm not finished with you!"  
"It's my turn, tough guy." I grabbed him and threw him against the wall. He pulled a gun and started shooting. I just walked up to him, grabbed his gun-toting hand, and squeezed.  
"ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!" he screamed as I continued tightening my grip. You could hear bones break one by one. Still holding his hand, I picked him up threw him against another wall. "My hand! You broke my hand!"  
"And I'm not done yet." All my frustration, all my anger, was being released. I don't know why I have such a problem with anger. I could have killed the guy, and probably would have...

"Hey, knock it off!" screamed someone else. I turned around just as a bunch of goop hit me in the face and all over. It got in my joints and I was completely stuck in it. It had me pinned to the ground.  
The thug tried to run off, but he got the same treatment I did. I started to hear sirens, so I used my jetpack to burn the gunk off my back and take flight.  
"Not so fast!" I looked down and there was a strand of the stuff stuck to my legs. (I'm still developing a "nerve system" for my Hardware. I can't really feel much in that metal and I've practiced a lot in applying pressure to what I touch.) I looked down and crawling up that strand was none other than Spider-Man.

To be continued...

HARDWARE 6: I Work Alone

I was already upset about everything else, so I wasn't as happy as I normally would have been to see Spider-Man. "LET GO!" I yelled at him as I broke myself free of the initial webbing he used on me. The webbing was amazingly strong!  
Just as I broke the last of it and had my weapons free, Spider-Man shot another strand of wedding at a rooftop. I couldn't fly any further and Spider-Man encased me in more webbing. It got in my Hardware bad enough that I had to turn off my jetpack and land on another roof.

I was lying down, struggling to break free from all the webbing. Spider-Man approached, grabbed me around the neck, and lifted me to his eye-level.  
"Who are you and what was that all about?"  
"That guy back there was about to kill someone!"  
"I know. I saw the victim on my way in. I checked on him quick and he said some robot saved him, but was trashing the thug."  
"See? I'm one of the good guys! Now just let me go!"  
"Hold on, buddy. We need to have a little chat about your crime fighting techniques. Now, what's your name again?"  
"I'm Hardware," I was then stunned, "... and you're PETER PARKER!"

Spider-Man dropped me and stepped back. He took a defensive stance, "What? What are you talking about? How do you know Parker? WHO ARE YOU?"  
Instead of working on the rest of the webbing, I just morphed back to human with the robotics and gunk all going back into the drive. "Relax, Pete, It's just me."  
"Jake? YOU are one of the new crime-fighting robots?"  
"I'm ALL of them, actually," I replied with a grin. It's fun to be famous.  
"How did you know it was me?" asked Spidey as he relaxed his stance.  
"I matched your voice pattern, size, stature, etc. to the recordings I have of you from earlier."  
"You were recording me? Why?"  
"I record everything. I can't really help it. I couldn't really help comparing you to Peter... I mean, to you... you know what I mean. I just automatically notice the details and after our brief conversation it clicked."  
"You have some... interesting powers. You're going to keep this to yourself, right?"  
"I won't tell if you won't."  
"Good. Um... Oh yeah, try to keep your temper under control from now on, got it?"  
"I always do... 'Try,' I mean."  
"Ok. Ah, I should probably get back to work." Spidey turned to leave, then stopped and turned back. "Say, could I get some shots of you?"  
"For the Bugle?"  
"Uh... yeah."  
"I suppose..." Heh heh.

After Peter retrieved his camera we had a brief photo shoot. We didn't talk too much during that time. I guess we were both still calming down from everything.  
When Pete was done shooting, it was about time for both of us to head back. "Hey, Pete..."  
"Spider-Man. We've got to be careful out in the open like this, H-Dub."  
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. And sorry about all the stuff earlier tonight."  
"No problem, we all go through it from time to time." And he shot a strand to the next building.  
"Hey, Spidey, maybe we could partner up or something? You know, a crime fighting duo?" Man, I'm such a dufus.  
"Sorry, bud," he replied as he swung away. "I work alone."

HARDWARE 7: Night Out

The other night I was just chilling in my room. After a slow start, my time in New York has turned out very eventful, and I felt like taking a little break. Still no action from Animax. I can't wait to try out my new Hardware on his pets...

I decided to start going to a Bible study Aaron was leading. Now I've been reading it some on my own. Even though I have it all downloaded and thus memorized, I get more out of it by reading it normally. (I like the word "thus" and try to use it as often as I can )

Speaking of Aaron, he soon stopped by to chat. Just the normal chit chat until he asked me about a girl at the Bible study. "You know Desdemona?"  
"From your Bible study?"  
"Yeah. What do you think of her?"  
"I don't know she seems nice. I haven't seen her much outside of there..."  
"I guess she likes you."  
"Really? Why?"  
"Good question," laughed Aaron. "She was wondering if you'd be interested in a date."  
"I barely know her, but I guess it couldn't hurt..."

So I gave her a call and we decided to go to a movie. She's pretty but seemed kind of quiet most of the time. I figured she must be shy and would be more comfortable at a movie. Plus it would give me a chance to catch up on some sleep.

Things were going pretty well. I didn't have high expectations or anything, but Desdemona seemed nervous. I actually kind of got a kick out of it.  
When we got out of the movie, though, we decided to take a shortcut back to campus.  
"Are you sure this is safe?" I asked as I looked at the run down surroundings.  
Desi giggled. At least that seemed to ease her nerves some. "It's no more dangerous than the rest of the city."  
"Well, if you say so..."  
Just then three thugs jumped out of hiding and rushed us. "You should have listened to your boyfriend, toots." one of sneered. Desi let out a scream. "SHUT UP!" the first thug yelled as he backhanded her.  
"Hand over your purse and wallet!" ordered another as they pulled guns on us. Desi got up slowly, crying, and we complied. I wanted so badly to morph and take them out, but I couldn't risk Desi getting hurt or finding out my secret identity. (I almost always keep a drive in my head for emergencies.)

"Now let's have some fun," said one of them as he grabbed Desi by the hair and took her around the corner, slapping her when she started to scream.  
"LET HER GO!" I yelled. One of the other thugs nailed me on the back of the head with his gun while the third looked on.  
When I hit the ground, one of them put his foot on my back and pinned me. "Don't try to be a hero, kid."  
"Who has to try?" I replied, as I quickly rolled and took him down. He got back up and swung at me, but I easily dodged it and gave him a kick to the stomach. The other thug started shooting at me and, with Desi out of sight, I morphed into Hardware. I lunged at the thug, bullets bouncing off my armor, and threw him into the ground.  
The thug who took Desi came back out. "What's going on?" And then he saw me. "HOLY!..." He turned and started running, but I took him down with some well placed rubber bullets.

I morphed back and ran to see if Desi was ok. She was crumpled on the ground crying. "Desi? It's over, are you ok?"  
Sobbing, she slowly lifted her head, nodding. "I'm... I'm ok." She looked up at me and had tears streaming down her face. Then she got a horrified look on her face. "Jake! You've been SHOT!"  
I looked down and saw my clothes drenched in blood. The thug hit me before I transformed! I didn't even notice when I turned back, it must have been the adrenaline.  
I heard sirens in the background. I could have swapped my injured areas with areas from Hardware to buy some time, but I got real dizzy... and... passed... out...

HARDWARE 8: I Hate Hospitals

I woke up later in a hospital bed. There was a doctor and a nurse there.  
"Hey there! How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.  
"Uuuhhhh... Dizzy... My head's throbbing..."  
"You lost a lot of blood, and you're going to require surgery. You should be in here for a while."  
"Arrr... What about school? Ughhh..."  
"You'll have to work that out with your professors, you're not going anywhere. We're going to let you rest for now, you have some visitors outside."

The doctor and nurse left and in walked Aaron, Desdemona, my roommate Jeremy, and a few others from the dorm and church.  
"Jake, are you ok?" asked Desi.  
"No, I feel..."  
"You saved my life!" She picked up my hand and held it, looking at me with a puppy dog look in her eyes. Crap.

"The doctors say you'll be in here for a while," said Jeremy. "Would you like me to bring you anything from your room?"  
"That would be great. Could you bring my laptop, some clothes, my books, and those CDs and jump drives I keep on the top shelf?"  
"No problem! You can get internet access here. I'll let our professors know what happened and I'm sure you'll be able to work something out." Jeremy and I were in a lot of classes together. Our floor at the dorms is full of engineering students in their first or second year.

"Anything we can get you now?" asked Aaron.  
"Yeah, I'm STARVING!"

I chatted with everyone for a little while and we did a bit of praying. Desdemona held my hand nearly the whole time. It felt really uncomfortable, but she had been through so much herself and I couldn't say anything.  
My parents called and everyone else left for the night. I talked to my dad first.  
"Jake? We heard what happened. How are you?"  
"I'm feeling better, but I guess I'm going to be in here a while."  
"We're going t fly out right away to see you."  
"You don't have to do that. I'll be fine. I just got here; you can take your time."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Absolutely."  
"Did... did they give you a CAT scan or anything?"  
"I didn't even think of that!" I was worried what they'd find. Professor X had some doctors take some tests in the past and what they saw was very out of the ordinary. "They haven't said anything, so I don't think so..."  
"Worst case scenario is they'll find out you're a mutant. They won't know you're Hardware yet." My dad was really cool about my exploits. He was always proud of them and encouraged them. He found it pretty exhilarating. "Your mom would like to talk to you now." My mom, on the other hand...

"Jake! Are you ok?"  
"Yes, Mom, I just need to rest for a while and get some surgery, I guess."  
"SURGERY! Did this happen because you were out trying to fight crime again?"  
"No, I was on a date."  
"You're going to get yourself killed running around at night like that. There are murderers out there! They have knives, guns..."  
"But I have a small arsenal."  
"Ugh. Well, be careful out there. So you were on a date? How'd that go?"  
"Not bad. Until I got shot."  
"Oh, Sam would like to talk to you." Sam's my younger brother and still lives at home.

"Hey Jake! How're you doing?" Like my dad, Sam's excited about my superpowers and crime fighting. He's always eager to help me out and get involved, but of course I can't let him do much. He's a good sport about and would help me keep things organized at home.  
"Could be better... How about you?"  
"A lot better than you!" he laughed. "So you were on a date? Ooooooo!"  
"Yep, laugh it up. So, have you heard from Adam lately?"  
"No, he's still the same old Adam." Adam's our older brother. Unlike Sam, he's pretty jealous of my powers. He hardly talks to the rest of us. He moved out to the west coast to go to college and will be finishing up soon out there.

I talked to my family a little more before getting ready to sleep. I decided to watch a little news and see what I missed while I was bleeding all over the place.  
"Tonight's top story is the crime wave sweeping the city. Everywhere, numerous bizarre creatures are stealing everything of value they can get their hands, or should I say _claws,_ on..."

HARDWARE 9: Animax Part 3

"Pete! It's Jake."  
"Hey, Jake, I heard what happened. Sorry I didn't stop by or call earlier. I've been really busy." CRASH!  
"Yeah, I saw on TV. You've got to get me out of here."  
"What? You've just been shot!"  
"Yeah, but I..."  
"Hold on a minute..." WHACK! THUD! "Ok, sorry about that. You were saying?"  
"I fought this guy before."  
"The guy in the colorful outfit who calls himself Animax?"  
"Colorful outfit? Between that and all the monsters I see what he's been doing in his down time. I am so eager to get my hands on him! And as soon as he shows up again I'm in the hospital."  
"Jake, you need to STAY there. You took three bullets for crying out loud."  
"But I can help! Once I change into Hardware my human body is loaded into my drive and I'll be fine... Wait a minute. How did you know how many bullets I took?"  
"I guess you haven't been watching enough news. Your girlfriend was going on and on about how you took down one of the attackers before the robot showed up to save you both."  
"She's NOT my girlfriend. Oh man, I morphed right in front of those guys. Did they say anything?"  
"Yeah, but nobody believes them. Look, I've been placing tracers on a bunch of these things. It looks like most of them have stopped at the same location. I'm going to head there and check it out. You stay put!"  
"Just come over here and cause a quick distraction outside!"  
"You nearly killed one guy because you lost control, I easily took care of you, and now you've been shot three times. I'm not sure I want your help."  
"The third bullet barely grazed me."  
"Ugh. They're going to know you're gone."  
"I rigged all their monitoring equipment to make it look like I'm still here. I also have a mic and speaker set up so I can tell anyone who stops by to keep out. When you start swinging around outside and cause a stir, I'll sneak out as Hardware with my trench coat on."  
"This will never work."  
"You need my help!"  
" Sigh I'm going to regret this..."

Spider-Man came by and webbed cars in the parking lot, setting off car alarms. The hospital halls were already pretty clear because it was so late. People started running out side to see what was causing such a problem. I tried to get out as quickly and quietly as possible. It was pretty hard with a clanking robot body and I drew a few stares...  
Once out side, I circled around the hospital looking for Spider-Man.  
"Psst! Hardware!" Spidey called from above, sticking to the side of the building.  
"Nice idea with the car alarms!"  
"Let's go! Follow me." Spidey started swinging. I morphed back to human and morphed again to absorb my coat and hat. I then started after Spider-Man.  
"This is taking too long," I said as I flew up and grabbed Spidey. "Just tell me where to go."  
"Holy cow!" exclaimed Spidey as he adhered himself to my back. "I guess you will come in handy after all!" He gave me the address and we were on our way.

To be continued.

HARDWARE 10: Animax Part 4

We landed a good distance from our destination so nobody would hear us approaching. Spider-Man jumped down. "Phwew, I was starting to get hot. It was actually alright up there."  
"That was one of the hardest things to do in designing these bodies, insulating the jetpack so it wouldn't damage anything else." I then morphed back to human and ejected the drive I just used. I put that one in a coat pocket and pulled out another one. Just then, I dropped to a knee and winced in pain.  
"HDub? I knew you weren't in any shape for this!"  
"I'll be fine," I replied as I inserted a new drive and morphed into a different Hardware.  
"Uh, I kind of like your last one better. You know, with all the guns and stuff."  
"I specially designed this Hardware with Animax's creatures in mind. Unfortunately, my drives don't have enough memory to keep the firearms and jetpack with the new installments. And to get everything on here I wanted, I sacrificed a little reserve power. I'm going to need to recharge between using my new weapons."

We started walking and pretty soon we saw a huge old warehouse. "Again with the warehouses," cracked Spidey.  
"That's the place alright. It's loaded with animals."  
"Huh?"  
"Infrared vision."  
"Oh, yeah. Well, I have this thing called 'spider-sense' and if we were just a little closer..."  
"Ok, I won't be able to sneak in like you, so I'll cause the distraction on the ground and you go in through that opening up there. See if you can get to Animax."  
"Hey, newbie, who died and put you in charge?"  
"Ok, you go in the front door and I'll sneak around back."  
"I never said I disliked your plan," Spidey quipped as he shot a strand of webbing towards the roof and started climbing up.

I made my way to the door. There was strong metal under the broken down exterior. I pulled away some rotting wood and found a card scanner. I pulled it off to tap the system and open the door. But before I could connect to it, the door opened and a huge arm grabbed me. I was thrown inside on the floor, the room went pitch black as the door closed behind me.  
I could still see everything with my night vision. I was surrounded by caged monstrosities, some like the Slash one I fought in my first encounter with Animax. The inside was very technologically advanced.  
The thing that grabbed me started charging me. It looked human except bigger, more muscle-bound, and feral. I used his own momentum and threw him past me as he attacked, slamming him to the floor.

The lights went on and at the opposite wall of the enormous room, Animax appeared on his giant "steed." He was decked out in a caped costume and an elaborate helmet, all composed of animalistic designs.  
"Ah, another plaything for my pets."  
"Plaything? At least I'm not the one in a clown outfit!"  
"Spunky, aren't you? I see you've met my bodyguard, Sledgehammer. My masterpiece! He is my first successful human experiment!"  
"Your genetic experiments are nothing new..."  
"But mine are the BEST! I have perfectly utilized DNA and bioengineering to create the most powerful creations this world has ever seen! I don't know what you are or who's operating you, but now you will see that machines are no match for my army!" He pushed a button on a nearby counsel and all the cages started to open.

"Well, at least you stopped talking!" yelled Spider-Man as he dove from the ceiling towards Animax. Sledgehammer jumped in the way and caught Spider-Man, smashing him against the wall. Spidey got up to resume the fight.

"Hang on!" I called as I started running towards them. As soon as I did, though, a bunch of the animals started jumping at me. I dodged the first two but then one of those Slash creatures got a good hold on me again. I enabled electric generators I installed on the exterior of this Hardware and gave it a fierce shock. It screamed as it dropped to the floor. It was quickly replaced by more animals trying to wrestle me down, who were also shocked.

Spider-Man was really shook up by Sledgehammer, but was able to web the beast's feet as it charged. Sledgehammer tripped forward and Spidey jumped out of the way as it crashed. Spider-Man then went for Animax, but the creature he was riding grabbed Spidey and threw him back towards Sledgehammer, who was breaking through the webbing.

The monsters started catching on to my trick and began using quick strikes to try to knock me down. As soon as I had some clearance, I disabled my electric generators. I was able to quickly recharge and unleashed a sleeping gas in the middle of the building. The closer creatures started to get drowsy. They were much easier to dodge and take down.  
Animax, pushed another button that activated some fans, dissipating the gas. I took the opportunity to rush Sledgehammer and nail him in the side. He dropped Spidey who layered Animax with webbing, knocking him from his saddle.  
"ATTACK!" screamed Animax while stuck to the floor. Sledgehammer and all the animals started rushing us again.  
"Anymore tricks up your sleeves?" asked Spidey.  
"One more, but you'll have to get us out of here fast!" I activated an extremely high-pitched siren, like a super powered dog whistle. All the animals started screaming and writhing. I grabbed Animax, and Spidey latched onto my back again, swinging us to the ceiling as total chaos broke out among the creatures.  
"So, a little gas takes up more memory than a jetpack? That doesn't seem right..."  
"I generate a LOT of juice with my electrocutions, and I wanted to be able to do it continuously fast without the other systems faltering. Stuff like gases and liquids are more complicated for me to put in code than metal and electronics as well. But the main reason is I've been optimizing the other weapons for years. I'm sure in time I could make this stuff smaller, too."

Spider-Man took Animax to the ground and was able to shut down all the power to the warehouse. With the fans turned off and myself recharged I dropped down more gas to put the creatures to sleep.  
"He's not going anywhere until the police get here," said Spidey as he firmly webbed Animax to the ground.  
"They'll get here soon, I just called them." I switched to my flying Hardware and we got back to the hospital as fast as possible.

The surgery went well the next day. I had a lot of visitors again, including Desdemona. Everyone else left and I thought I should try to set things straight with her. "Desi? We need to talk..."  
"Yes?" she asked, hopefully.  
"Ah, you and me, I think things are, you know, they're..."  
"Hey Jake!" greeted Peter as he entered the room. "Sorry to barge in, but I wanted to catch you before visiting hours ended. You must be Jake's girlfriend!"  
"Yeah, Desdemona. Nice to meet you!" They shook hands and Desi turned back to me. "I'll let you two chat. I'll see you tomorrow!"

After she left, I snarled at Peter, "She is NOT my girlfriend!"  
"Sorry, buddy, I couldn't resist! So everything went ok?"  
"Yeah, I'll still be here a while, though. At least I won't have any trouble keeping up with school."  
"Speaking of which, I was wondering if you could help me get ready for a test next week. I've missed over half the classes..."  
"Sorry, buddy. I work alone."  
"..."  
"Of course I'll help."  
"You did great last night! I'd be happy to work with you anytime!"  
"What's the latest on Animax?"  
"My contact with the police said he's really Dr. Jerry Spruk, a very highly regarded biologist. He was still practicing in the field through all this."  
"Hmm, I guess that's not too surprising..."  
"Also, what we saw of that warehouse was pretty much it. No laboratory or anything else. No signs of him actually conducting experiments or doing any work there."  
"The plot thickens!"  
"And all the stolen merchandise is still missing."  
"Really? So he hasn't said anything?"  
"Nope. We have no idea where he got the resources and funding for all this."  
"Well, I'm going to catch up on some sleep. I expect you to have all the answers by the time I get out of here."  
"Ha! Wish me luck!" Peter started to exit. "Oh, and get well soon."  
"Thanks."


End file.
